Fwd: qotd: Analysis of Pennsylvania's single payer proposal

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-------- Original Message --------
Subject: qotd: Analysis of Pennsylvania's single payer proposal
Date: Tue, 12 Mar 2013 11:48:51 -0700
From: Don McCanne <don@mccanne.org>
To: Quote-of-the-Day <quote-of-the-day@mccanne.org>



March 5, 2013
The Pennsylvania Health Care Plan
Impact and Implementation
By Gerald Friedman, Ph.D., Professor of Economics, University of
Massachusetts – Amherst

Executive Summary

Pennsylvania is on an unsustainable economic path. Health care costs
are absorbing a growing share of personal income. Between 1991 and 2009,
spending on health care in the Commonwealth increased by $60 billion,
rising nearly twice as fast as state income. Little of this increased
spending can be attributed to improvements in health care. Instead, the
fastest growth has been in administration and billing operations...
while a growing number of Pennsylvanians are without adequate health
insurance or access to needed care.
The Pennsylvania Health Care Plan (PHCP) would put the state on a
sustainable path by controlling health care costs while giving all
citizens access to quality health care. It would establish a
single-payer system to finance health care -- paying for all necessary
medical care including hospital care, visits to doctors / nurses,
occupational and physical therapy, prescription drugs, medical devices,
medically necessary nursing home care and home health care. By reducing
administrative costs and anti-competitive market practices, the PHCP
could save $33 billion in 2014, almost 23% of existing medical spending.
These savings would allow the expansion of coverage to all Pennsylvania
residents while still saving over $17 billion, or $1,335 per person.
The PHCP would be funded by a 10% payroll tax paid by employers and a 3%
levy on income paid by recipients. The shift from insurance premiums and
out-of-pocket expenses to taxes linked with income would lower health
care spending for over 80% of Pennsylvanians.

Businesses and local governments would also benefit, saving on payroll
costs as well as the premiums paid to cover the "administrative costs"
associated with private health insurance. By lowering payroll costs, the
PHCP would make Pennsylvania businesses more competitive, producing an
additional 120,000 – 200,000 new jobs.

(Legislation to be introduced March 19 in the Pennsylvania Senate as SB 400)

http://healthcare4allpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/EISExecutiveSummary.pdf

Full report (38 pages)
http://healthcare4allpa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/EconomicImpactStudy3513.pdf


Comment: Another single payer study... another result that makes single
payer the imperative. Are we slow learners? Or what?